


nobody sleeps, nobody keeps track of time

by paddyfields (lucitae)



Series: Like-Like and Not-Love [7]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: #kurohqpjoau, Gen, Hunter of Artemis!Saeko, Nereid!Alisa, PJO!AU, descendent of a non greek pantheon!miwa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:34:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26509825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucitae/pseuds/paddyfields
Summary: Waves kiss the shore and twinkle under the light of the moon. Saeko slips off her shoes. Toes grasp at blades of grass, feeling the them trampled under her foot. The other one follows. She steps into sand. They give into her weight, slip between toes, support her.The moon is high. The wind whistles almost song like, harmonious with the clash of waves against rock. Saeko walks towards the line where water greets sand and then bids farewell continuously. Waves come to lap against her toes. An image of a woman is formed from water, rising, taking shape. A glow of mesmerizing green that Saeko holds onto until the silver moonlight becomes long flowing hair.
Relationships: Haiba Alisa & Kageyama Miwa & Tanaka Saeko
Series: Like-Like and Not-Love [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859686
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	nobody sleeps, nobody keeps track of time

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from niki's nightcrawlers. a lot of things happen in pjo!au and it's mostly in my head or xin's dms. i am so sorry for the sudden jump from whatever part was before this to now but hopefully i have given enough context for you to understand.

Waves kiss the shore and twinkle under the light of the moon. Saeko slips off her shoes. Toes grasp at blades of grass, feeling the them trampled under her foot. The other one follows. She steps into sand. They give into her weight, slip between toes, support her.

The moon is high. The wind whistles almost song like, harmonious with the clash of waves against rock. Saeko walks towards the line where water greets sand and then bids farewell continuously. Waves come to lap against her toes. An image of a woman is formed from water, rising, taking shape. A glow of mesmerizing green that Saeko holds onto until the silver moonlight becomes long flowing hair.

 _Your eyes are like emeralds_ , Saeko had once said, hands folded and kept to herself in case they stray to touch her cheek. And cause Saeko to betray her oath. She had tried to justify it, in her head, as an assessment to see if the form before her was more human or more water.

( But, at the end of the day, Saeko knows it is to see how close she can get to those eyes Saeko sometimes dreams about when she closes her eyes. She still does. )

Alisa threw her head back and laughed. It’s picked up by the wind and carried out to the ocean where it becomes one with the waves. _They are like the sea_ , Alisa had said. _I’ll show you one day_ , she promised.

The one day will never arrive. Not until Saeko chooses to return to a mortal life. But if that happens Alisa would be left alone.

Saeko doubts her death would impact Alisa, who is made of moon and sea. Who has seen the rise and fall of civilizations. Who experiences the passing of decades as a blink of an eye and still speaks of the deceased from three generations ago as if it were only yesterday. But Saeko has also sampled immortality, still tasting it. And despite being surrounded by sisters in arms, she knows what it’s like. If the situations were reversed, Saeko wouldn’t want to lose another if she can help it.

“Do you like the sea so much?” Alisa asks. Elegance in the way she’s poised on the jut of rock. Hand pats the empty space beside her: an invitation. Saeko’s eyes can’t help but sweep down the line of her body until it ends as a wisp of water in the semblance of a tail. Reminding Saeko of how she’s in a nereid’s presence. But Alisa never cared for the distinction between carriers of ichor and carriers of blood. “You come every time you are here.”

The wind stirs. Alisa’s hair perfectly frames her face, barely disturbed. Saeko tucks hair behind her ear, an old habit she can’t shake even after it has been shortened. “I come here to see you.”

Alisa laughs. It stirs memories. Eyes sparkle with mirth much like the way moonlight plays with the water’s surface. “Oh Hunter, don’t tease me like this.” Alisa smiles as Saeko settles down next to her. “I have no interest in an unavailable heart.”

It has to stay that way.

Saeko’s lips curl. “You make it sound like you’re a siren.”

The smile stays on Alisa’s lips. Her eyes look like the calm before the storm. Before the winds shift to a saccharine song that drags unsuspecting mortals down to their watery graves. “Is this your roundabout way to tell me to sing for you?”

“Would you, if I asked?”

Alisa seems to consider it but quickly turns. Looking past Saeko, alert and wary. “There’s someone here.”

Saeko follows Alisa’s gaze.

There’s a young woman who, despite wearing a leather jacket, seems to shiver. Saeko forgets that beyond the borders of the camp, the weather remains unregulated. Her black hair whips in the wind, her wavy hair gets tangled, gets in her face. She walks towards them and stops at the shimmer of the border. Her car is parked not too far away.

It’s the way she holds herself, the way she glares past the boundary and makes eye contact with Saeko that stirs an old memory. The mist has no effect on this one.

Years ago, when the Hunters of Artemis were tracking down lycanthropes, they came across a Son of Athena. In front of him was a girl: a tantō in one hand, a tachi in another. The dust of monsters sliding off the blade, smell of sulfur pungent.Her hair was long, tied back, on guard as she assessed the Hunters watching her from the rooftops. Her blades remain unretracted. Saeko recognized those eyes. Reminded her of her own. Reminded her of her baby brother and his great grandson who bears both his resemblance and his name at Camp.

Saeko leaps off the rock and makes her way towards the woman. No longer the teen whose hands trembled slightly. The hands are now curled into fists on each side to not betray her anxiety.

Alisa melds with the sea and reappears beyond the border. Saeko crosses it.

“My name is Kageyama Miwa,” the woman introduces herself, “I heard that my little brother has returned from his quest.” She looks between them. “I want to see him. Please...” Miwa’s voice breaks at the last word.

Neither of them have authorization around here. All Saeko can offer is information.

“He’s in the infirmary bay,” Saeko starts and quickly adds after seeing Miwa nearly crumble: “He’s well. The one who brought him isn’t.”

Miwa’s eyes widen. “Koushi?”

Alisa nods. She must have finished her assessment. And has chosen to trust her. Voice as warm as the sands on a beautiful day. “The son of Hecate made a deal with Nemesis to ensure every member of the quest returns alive.”

Miwa turns her attention to Alisa. “What do you mean?”

Saeko’s lips twist, cruel as if to mimic the goddess that upholds balance. “An eye for an eye.”

Miwa’s fist tightens. “This isn’t what I meant by watch over him,” she says through gritted teeth. “I wouldn’t have entrusted Tobio to Koushi if he was going to be reckless like this.”

“It’s not your fault,” Alisa interjects, noting the distress. “It was Sugawara Koushi’s choice.” And a minor price to pay at that. The goddess of retribution had been merciful. Generous, even.

Saeko looks at Miwa with sympathy.

She notes how guilt has already taken root. Stemming from a place of love. Saeko can’t help but wonder: if it weren’t for the daily onslaught of monsters at their doorstep, would Miwa have fought to keep her family close?

Saeko knows the answer is _yes_.

And so Alisa questions: “Would you not have done the same for your brother?”

Kageyama Miwa crumples to the ground. Sand cushioning where knees land to reduce the impact. Her face hidden in her hands and the wind drowns out the sobs.

It’s colder out here. Saeko takes off her jacket. Drapes the coat made from fur over Miwa’s shoulder.

Alisa leaves the sea. Water parts for her legs like the seam of a dress and trails behind her like a train. The goddess cups her hands and kneels before Miwa until Miwa lifts her head.

The water in Alisa’s hands shift. An image growing clearer in the stillness between them.

It must be the nymphs recreating the picture and transmitting it to Alisa.

Kageyama Tobio sits in a chair. His head is the cross of his arms on a bed as he leans forward in a way his back and neck will complain tomorrow. In the bed is Sugawara Koushi, eyes closed in fitful sleep with a patch over his left eye.

“Thank you,” Miwa says, eyes laden with tears.

“Thank you,” she repeats again and again until two pairs of hands can soothe them away.

**Author's Note:**

> so kageyamas are descended from susanoo: god of the sea, storms, fields, the harvest, marriage, and love. but i focused on the first two obviously for narration sake.
> 
> Bonus future scene:
> 
> “Why did you become a huntress?” Miwa asks. Her hands deftly braid Alisa’s silver spun hair. Curious, Alisa leans back against Miwa, tilting her head to catch the expression on Saeko’s face.
> 
> Saeko shrugs as she takes a sip of beer, turning away from Alisa’s gaze. Her other hand refuses to move from how warm it is on Miwa’s shoulder. “I wasn’t interested in love,” she says simply.
> 
> “And then?” Miwa presses. Her fingers cease their actions as if the sound of hair being braided would drown out Saeko’s next words.
> 
> “You better not say something like and then you met Miwa,” Alisa jokes.
> 
> Saeko places the empty glass of beer on the table. 
> 
> “And then I met you,” Saeko says as she turns to hold Alisa’s gaze, “and Miwa too.”
> 
> All Tanaka Saeko ever needed was a reason to love freely and without restraint. She found it in the daughters of the sea.


End file.
